Calm within the Storm
by keepONsmiling
Summary: On an extremely dark, chilly day, a rendered useless Asakura Hao finds warmth from all the ones he once despised. A heartwarming story based on a true encounter.Please R&R!


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shaman king or any of the characters therein (although I wish I did. Heehee)

The sun was completely hidden behind the heavy rain clouds. It was 8 in the morning, although it could easily have been mistaken as night. The rain hammered down upon the earth like the drummer in the garage band of the gods. Amidst the heavy storm and scampering crowds, he stood, as still as a statue. The droplets pelted against his skin painfully like thousands of hard berries shot from air guns. Above, thunder clapped mockingly, as though laughing at his plight.

His once luxurious, almond brown hair that could make any fan girl fall over in awe was now plastered to the sides of his face in matted locks. His cloak clung to his frame like a second skin and, truth to be told, he was freezing to death. But of course, the Master—ex-master—of the Spirit of Fire would never, for the life of him, admit to such an embarrassing fact.

He had lost his Master Spirit, lost his companions, his apartment even, for being unable to pay the rent. And if the brunette could have been any unluckier, the heavens had just begun pouring themselves out on him as if to express their displeasure for all the lives his once took. So there amidst the torrential rain he stood, former master of the Spirit of Fire, now drenched the bone and but a shadow of his past glory.

It was indeed a dark day for Asakura Hao.

He muttered a string of curses under his breath, as he trudged unwillingly to who knows where. A dozen names ran through his mind, none of which could give him what he needed right now—a shelter from the darkest storm in his life.

Through the thick sheets of rain, he vaguely caught sight of something orange-- a BUS STOP, his mind made out in euphoric realization. Hastening his pace, he shifted the heavy paper bag he had stuffed full with his belongings to his right hand, he was sure the paper was wearing thin now.

The rain had begun pounding down even harder and before he knew it, the sack had given way, strewing his items all over the muddy ground. First the jeans, then the cloak, followed by all the toiletries and everything else. What a genius he was to choose a paper bag of all things! "Dammit! Damn it all!" he hollered, unable to suppress his frustration any more. Hastily he bent down, fingers numb from the cold, in an attempt to retrieve all his now soiled garments, but to no avail. For each time his fumbling fingers grasped something, another article would tumble out of his reach.

"Damn it!" he cursed profusely, willing the rain to disappear. And as if some passing faerie had heard his wish and granted it, the hard droplets magically ceased from drumming against his skull. Surprise seizing him, the Shaman spun around only to see a bright orange umbrella held over his head. Its wielder was a young girl whose waist-length hair was as brilliant a shade of blue as the sky, had it not been pouring so heavily. She held a grocery bag in her free arm and was apparently headed for home. Curiosity was evident in her onyx orbs as she peered back at onyx. Suddenly realizing how utterly disgraceful he must have appeared, the Asakura quickly straightened up, folding his arms across his chest and regaining his usual, stoic stance. With a knowing smile, the bluenett bent down and retrieved his remaining articles. Hao just stared at her, an unreadable expression on his features. He had seen her somewhere before. Aah, she was the younger sister of Horokeu Usui, that annoying brat who would follow Yoh around. Her name however, eluded him.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" she inquired impatiently, seeing how his gaze had lingered on her so long.

"…"

"The bus stop's just around the corner, I'm sure you can take a bus from there to a friend's house, ne?" She tugged at his wrist and he followed, unsure of what else to do. He definitely did not want to return into the terrible downpour though, that was for sure.

They walked in silence, Hao deep in thought and Pirika holding the umbrella above both of their heads. Honestly speaking, Hao had never, in those 1000 years of his existence, boarded a bus. He had always had his Spirit of Fire with him, and besides, buses were only meant for pathetic beings like those humans.

_Well I guess you're just as pathetic as them now, huh? _A voice inside him reminded. He shut it out, even if he did board the bus, where could he go? The Usui seemed to sense his dilemma for she halted as they arrived at the stop, "you could always head over to the Asakuras?"

The words hit him like a ton of bricks. _Why hadn't he thought of that? _Wait… where had that come from? There was no way on earth Asakura Hao would just waltz up to his twin's door and demand to be let in! But then again… Hao glanced up at the sickeningly gray sky, the rain didn't appear to be stopping anytime soon.

Heaving a sigh, Hao stretched out his arm like how he had seen the humans hail buses. He had not a shard of pride remaining anyways, after having fate punish him so brutally, there was no harm in stopping over at Yoh's place just to escape the rain. And if he was lucky, Yoh could probably by out, yeah, he was sure counting on that.

As the bus neared, Hao turned abruptly to the bluenett, "What's your name?"

"Pirika." She beamed, "Usui Pirika."

And with that, Hao boarded the bus and soon disappeared behind it doors, but not before mumbling an almost inaudible, "thanks, Pirika."

* * *

There was a low rumble from the engine as the bus left the stop. The steady patter of the rain against its glass windows could still be heard, as Hao surveyed the bus. The seats were completely occupied and the remaining passengers were either leaning against the handrails or grasping onto triangular handles dangling from a low, overhead bar. The commuters were largely clad in business attire and heading home from a day's work. Hao wrinkled his nose, of all humans, he despised these the most. For they worked and worked mindlessly from dawn to dusk, only to end up just as weak as they originally were.

Smiling passengers shuffled to the side as Hao made his way to the back of the bus. There, a middle-aged man rose and offered his seat, seeing how drenched the boy was. With a curt nod, the Brunette settled down, and in the process spilling a few articles of his belongings. He cursed silently again before bending over to retrieve them. Just then, a brown paper sack was thrust in his hands. The smiling man nimbly transferred Hao's belongings into the sack before placing it onto his laps. At a loss of what to do, the Asakura huffed and leaned backwards. He shivered, as though suddenly noticing the cold from the air-conditioner which had begun slowly seeping into his every pore. Rubbing his palms against each other, he was suddenly aware of the warmth that began to settle over him. A warm overcoat had been draped over his shoulders. And somehow, though he still kept up his icy façade, Hao had suddenly felt a strong urge to get up and thank the gentleman, for a reason even he was unsure of. But he resisted it anyways, instead settling for a soft "hn" and turning his head to glance out of the window.

Through the streaks of rain against the glass, he saw young boys in raincoats and boots splashing blithely in puddles outside, something he had never tried before—not in any of his past 3 childhoods, not that he had wanted to though. Their joyous laughter could almost be heard even from inside the bus, and the Shaman felt something go off in his chest at the sight of the pure joy written all over their features. The bus soon neared the Asakura Residence and Hao got up to return the coat to the man.

"No, you keep it." It was final, and any form of resist would have been futile, for the man had replaced the coat over Hao's shoulders, smiling warmly down at him.

And Hao did another thing for the first time in a 1000 years. The corners of his lips tugged into a genuine smile.

* * *

Hao shuffled his feet as he made his way towards the expansive Asakura Residence, still somewhat unwilling to see the annoying face of his smiling twin. But the merciless rain was still pounding on him and he knew that soon, even the coat would be unable to keep him warm.

Mustering every ounce of courage, Hao raised an arm and rapped loudly against the wooden door. It was his last farewell to the last shard of his dignity. He felt like a complete idiot. First he tried to devour his brother's soul, and then he turned up at his door, asking to be let in.

The tall wooden doors swung open with a creak, revealing a boy who, aside from the head phones and hair, was an exact replica of Hao. "Hao!" faint surprise flickered across his all too familiar onyx orbs, as he realized Hao's motive. "You're such an idiot," there it was. They not only looked alike, but thought alike too. Hao felt his stomach tie itself into a tight knot, what on earth was he thinking anyway.

Supressing a pout, the younger Asakura continued, "you should have called me to come pick you up! Now look how drenched you've gotten yourself!" And with that, the said brunette pulled the other in, shutting the door behind them.

Asakura Hao was lost for words.

It was still a dark day, and an extremely chilly one too.

But inside, he had never felt this warm before.

.: Maybe humans weren't so bad after all :.


End file.
